The Heart of the Matter
by everlovin
Summary: A Ronon/Jenn baby fic, but this is a mixed blessing. Based on circumstances surrounding my first granddaughter.
1. Chapter 1

The Heart of the Matter

Disclaimer - I still don't own SGA. MGM does.

Rating - K+

Pairing - Ronon/Jenn, established,

Episodes - Future fic

Summary - Inspired by circumstances surrounding the birth of my first granddaughter. My hat's off to all the healthcare people who deal with this all the time.

This was the closest thing to a nightmare Ronon could think of. Carson was standing there explaining to him why Jennifer needed to have a C-section - now. Jenn had been laboring for so long and the baby was in distress.

Ronon nodded vaguely. If there was one doctor aside from Jenn he trusted implicitly, it was Carson. Any version of Carson. Carson turned to go scrub for the surgery and Ronon sat down by Jenn to smooth a strand of hair away from her face.

"You heard that I guess."

Jenn nodded at his stated question.

"You and the little one will be alright. Carson knows what to do." Ronon kept the worry out of his voice. His whole life was there on the hospital bed. "You go and have a beautiful baby. I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." The nurse came to wheel Jenn into the OR and Ronon went up to the observation deck to pace.

In a surprisingly short amount of time, he was looking through the glass down at his daughter. She was so very small and helpless. In automatic movements, he worked his way down to the OR doors. Carson met him there and placed his daughter in his arms.

Ronon felt a wave of emotion crash over him. Nothing in his experiences had prepared him for that. He'd fallen in love with his heartmates, Melena and Jennifer, gradually. This intense rush of emotion was completely new to him. He had only just met her and he'd die for her. He'd kill for her. And Ancestors help anyone who tried to hurt his little girl.

"Come along, Big Man. Let's get her checked out." Carson steered Ronon in the right direction as he was still absorbed in meeting his daughter. "Set her down, son. We'll get her checked over."

Ronon couldn't take his eyes off her. He cooed and counted fingers and did all the things new fathers did when they first met their child.

"Ah, bugger." Carson did his best to keep his voice down, but Ronon heard.

"What's wrong, Doc?" He felt panic claw at his chest when he saw Carson's worried demeanor.

"She has a heart murmur. It doesn't sound like an innocent one either." Carson's heart broke. Ronon's eyes were begging him to make everything better, but he didn't have that skill. "Gather her up again. We'll put her under the scanner so we can get some accurate information. She'll need to be seen by a pediatric cardiologist on Earth, and that doctor will want accurate information."

The scanner passed over the tiny girl. She kicked and fussed at the loss of her father's warmth. Ronon locked his knees against the waterfall of fear and panic crashing on him. And for the first time in many years, he prayed. With the scan over, Ronon gathered the babe and followed Carson to his office.

Carson spent a moment going over the results. "There's the likely problem." Ronon clapped eyes with him. Carson took another moment to consider how best to tell him. "First, I must tell you, this is an educated guess. She still needs to be seen by a specialist." Ronon nodded in understanding. "There are four parts to the heart. The wall between the two largest parts is thicker than it ought to be." He paused to see if Ronon was processing the information. "The way it's thickened is slowing the blood flow to the rest of her body."

Ronon paled beneath his bronzed skin. His skills set ran more along the lines of strategy, training, warfare, and self-aid. One thing he did know was that restricted blood flow was bad for the body and mind. "What do we do?"

"We'll rig up an incubator for her trip to Earth. Radek is already on it."

Ronon got up and paced the office, his tiny daughter in his arms. He was feeling trapped. Or probably more accurately, he was feeling the need to obliterate the threat to the tiny life he held. She fussed a bit at feeling the tension pouring off her father. Ronon added a bit of a bounce to his step as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"We haven't even named her, Doc. Jennifer and I talked about some names. . . It just feels wrong to leave Jenn out of that." Carson steered Ronon out to the recovery rooms. There was already a bassinet near Jennifer who was slowly coming out of the anesthesia.

"Hey, beautiful." Ronon leaned down to kiss her brow. "We have a baby girl." He placed the infant in Jenn's arms.

"She's so beautiful!" Jenn touched the baby's dark hair. Radek bustled in with various pieces of equipment to attach to the bassinet. "What's going on, Ronon?"

"We need to talk." As Radek affixed a heat lamp and O2 hose to the bassinet, Ronon explained what was going on. He lifted his daughter and placed her in the crib. "What're we naming her?"

"I think she needs a strong name. We're naming her after two of the strongest women we've known. Merika Elizabeth." Jenn's groggy voice was decisive.

Ronon grinned. "Perfect. Carson's probably still making arrangements with Woolsey. And we need to tell the team. You up for some company?"

"Bring them in."

Ronon broke the news to his team. Jenn filled in little bits of information that Ronon filed away for future reference.

John looked around to his team and saw the same solidarity he felt with the new parents. "What can we do for you, buddy?" he offered.

Ronon shook his head. He knew his request would shock them all, but he didn't see any other way if he hoped to be there for Merika. "I need McKay to come with me to Earth. At least until Jenn is back on her feet." Ronon willed Rodney to not be difficult. Ronon needed him there. "I need someone to explain everything to me so _I _can understand. You're used to doing that, plus you know all those medical terms." He didn't add that he needed someone to steady him if he felt the need for violence.

"Me?" Rodney looked stunned. "Yes, of course I'll go. I just need to threaten the idiots who work for me. Radek can keep a lid on them for a few days anyway." He sat up a little straighter. Somehow, he never thought Ronon wanted him around - especially in these circumstances.

Ronon offered him a relieved smile and turned his attention to John and Teyla. "I need you guys to look after Jenn until Carson clears her to follow me in a couple of days."

Jenn bristled at that. "I'll be following you tomorrow at the latest."

Ronon took one of her hands and kissed the center of her palm. "You need to wait until Carson clears you. I'll be worried enough for Merika and for you. Please don't add to that."

Jenn wasn't happy about it, but she settled back into the bed in acquiescence.

A/n - Reviews are just like lime sherbet on a hot day!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - There is a Memorial Children's Hospital in Colorado Springs. Doctor Schuster was my granddaughter's first doctor. NiCU - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Fortunately, Doctor Lam was involved in the local medical community and expedited the transfer and ambulance to Memorial Children's Hospital in the Springs.

The ambulance ride was ghastly. In the tiny incubator, Merika seemed to have a hard time catching her breath. McKay very nearly called the Hammond to have Sam authorize a direct transport. Only the technician monitoring her O2 sats and assuring McKay they were low, but in range, prevented him from using National resources for personal use.

The hospital was enormous. There were few societies in Pegasus that flourished enough to allow this kind of advancement. Ronon wondered again where his people might have been without the wraith. Luckily, Ronon had years of navigating Atlantis corridors with significantly fewer directions than were being offered here or he'd be lost.

They arrived at the NiCU on the third floor and were met by a woman at the door. "I'm Jenna. I'm a neonatal nurse, so if you have any questions or concerns, just ask."

"Ronon Dex," he greeted. "Rodney McKay. One of my teammates. My daughter was just transferred here."

Jenna eyed Ronon's height and build and reached into a cabinet for hospital gowns. "You both will need to scrub up and put on a gown before you go in." Jenna waited patiently as they complied.

She led the teammates through a myriad of rooms filled with bassinets. It seemed wrong to Ronon somehow that so many babies needed specialized care. She stopped in front of a bassinet. Merika's. It had so many monitors attached to it already.

For half a heartbeat, Ronon faltered. His daughter seemed so impossibly tiny in the backdrop of so many leads attached to her.

Rodney swallowed. He recognized the monitors and automatically memorized the stats. He hoped - well he knew - he'd get a chance to go online and look up how those stats compared to what was normal for newborns.

"I've got the results of the tests already done on her. Just direct me to the doctor and we can get down to business." Rodney went to follow Jenna when Ronon stopped him.

"Thanks, McKay." The statement was all the more heartfelt in it's stark simplicity.

Ronon settled down on the chair near the bassinet and lifted Merika out. It took a minute or so to figure out how to settle her and not unduly tug the leads. She fussed a bit and a nurse came over.

"How old is she?"

"She's almost four hours."

"It's been a busy life for her already then. I'd be willing to bet she's hungry by now."

Ronon looked around helplessly. "My wife is still in her hospital. So unless there's some milk in here. . ."

"No, we've got formula for her. Look in that drawer below her bed. You'll find a bottle."

Ronon smiled his thanks. Father and daughter settled in the chair and he hummed old Satedan ballads to her while she ate.

Jenn waited only long enough for Carson to go off duty when she flipped the blankets back from her bed. Gingerly, she swung her feet over the side. A deep pain assaulted her as she attempted to use muscles that had only recently been stitched back together. She steadied her breathing and prepared to half slide, half fall into a standing position.

Teyla entered the room intending to bring dinner from the mess. "I do not think it is wise to be rising so soon after your surgery."

Jenn flushed guiltily. "As a doctor, I always try to get patients ambulatory as soon as possible after surgery," she pontificated for all she was worth.

"I believe you waited until Carson was off duty and John and myself were gone because you know full well you are not fully capable of following Ronon and Merika to Earth. Did you hope to persuade Mr. Woolsey to allow you to go?

Jenn's face fell and tears welled in her eyes. Teyla set the tray down on the bedside table and moved to sit beside Jenn. "My baby needs me and I'm stuck a million light years away in bed," she sobbed. "I just want to hold her." Jenn buried her face in Teyla's shoulder as the flood of tears broke loose.

"The data you brought with you is remarkable complete, Doctor McKay. I'm curious. What instrumentation did you use?" Doctor Schuster asked.

"That's still classified. Expect it to be available in the next couple of years," McKay replied smoothly.

"It looks like your Doctor. . ." he paused to look for the name. "Beckett was on the right track. We'll need to run some tests to determine the extent of the problem."

"What is it we're dealing with?" McKay practically itched to get his tablet out and research what they were up against. Maybe see if the SGC or any Ancient tech at Area 51 could help them.

"It's called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. That means. . ."

"A thickened muscle in the heart is causing it to go bad." McKay interrupted. "I deal with a lot of Latin in my job."

The doctor typed some orders into his computer. "Very well, Doctor McKay, let's go have a look at the baby."

Ronon looked up to see McKay leading an older man to their nook in the NiCU.

"I'm Doctor Schuster, a pediatric cardiologist. Let's take a look at your baby."

"Ronon Dex," he offered a hand shake. The man had snowy white hair, a bit of a twinkle in his eye, and an air of confidence about him that encouraged people to trust him.

"Let's say we take a look." For ten minutes, he poked, looked, and listened to Merika. Ronon was both grateful for his thoroughness and set slightly on edge by it. How wrong could everything be? Merika looked perfect to him.

A tech came in rolling some sort of apparatus. "Here for the echo you ordered, Doc."

"Thanks, Manny. I'll check the results later this afternoon." Doctor Schuster stood. "Mr Dex. It was a pleasure to meet you and your daughter. After all the tests get done, we'll determine the best course of action for her," he said as he took his leave.

"Manuel Baca. I'm the here to take an echo cardiogram on the baby."

Ronon nodded in acknowledgment and threw a questioning glance at McKay.

"He's going to bounce sound waved off Merika's heart to get accurate measurements of various parts of it. Totally harmless. Totally painless," McKay explained.

Merika laid there in her bassinet fussing that she didn't feel her father near her. She let out a tiny wail when Manny put a blob of goop on her chest.

"It's cold," Manny apologized.

She continued to fuss and tried to squirm away from the cold sticky mess making it difficult for Manny to get the readings he needed. Ronon finally grabbed the pacifier the helpful nurse from earlier gave him and coaxed her to suckle on it to calm her down.

Merika looked up to Ronon with her unfocused hazel eyes as if she somehow knew he would make everything all right.

A/N - Reviews are greatly appreciated.


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